This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for detecting non-functional and dysfunctional jets in a color imaging device.
As used herein, the term “process direction” is defined as the direction of movement of recording media through an image rendering device such as a printer. The term “process-perpendicular direction” is defined as the direction perpendicular to the process direction. The terms “missing jet” or “faulty jet” are defined as a jet that is not properly operating, including jets that are non-functioning or dysfunctioning. That is, a missing or faulty jet is a jet that does not properly expel the amount of ink that it should expel.
Detection, and the subsequent correction, of faulty jets ensure the production of quality images by color image rendering devices. There are various existing approaches for detecting faulty jets in color image rendering devices such as printers. One way to detect dysfunctioning or non-functioning jets is to perform visual inspection of printed output to detect visual defects resulting from the improper operation of the dysfunctioning or non-functioning jets. For example, dysfunctioning or non-functioning jets may produce “streaks” in the color printed output that can be detected by an observer. However, visual inspection is not sufficient to detect all dysfunctioning or non-functioning jets. For example, visual inspection may not determine faulty jets that correspond to colors that form a low percentage of an image, as compared with other jets. Further, visual detection of faulty jets is not always practical in continuous printing environments without stopping the printing process. Thus, there is a need for automated detection of faulty jets that can be performed without stopping a user's continuous printing process. Further, there is a need for detection of faulty jets that can successfully detect faulty jets even when the colors corresponding to the faulty jets are not dominant in the printed output.